Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘Full impact of Covid-19’ in months
A Canterbury professor is warning the full economic impact of Covid-19 will not be felt for several months.
Peter Taylor-gooby, a lecturer in social policy at the University of Kent, says that a pinch-point will come if the government’s furlough scheme ends while the pandemic continues.
In new analysis, he paints a stark picture of a worsening economic landscape in the country as the year goes on.
He cites the possibility of mass redundancies, a fear of returning to the workplace, and larger numbers continuing to isolate as factors which he believes will drive an increasingly large number of people to using food banks.
He said: “The government has pursued a number of relevant measures: job retention through the furlough scheme, support for self-employed and support for individuals through Universal Credit.
“The future of unemployment is unclear and will depend on unknowns - the scale of the international downturn, the stance taken by government and the progress of the pandemic. “Over time, self-isolation is likely to diminish, but unless there is an effective vaccine, there will be people self-isolating to protect themselves for the foreseeable future.”
In parts of the county, such as in Canterbury, demand for food banks has already quadrupled since the coronavirus crisis began.
But professor Taylor-gooby, who is a trustee of Canterbury Food Bank, anticipates that such services could continue seeing a huge surge in users until the end of 2020.
He said: “[I anticipate] demand on food banks increasing as savings become exhausted, people move off their Universal Credit advance loans and then later as they face demands from landlords for rent payments in July. “Some businesses will be able to return to employment but it is unclear how many can do that without risking a second wave of infection, or what the appetite is for that kind of risk. Demand may well increase for the next three or four months and possibly the rest of the year.”